Ben Woodburn
Benjamin Woodburn (born 15 October 1999) is an English born Welsh footballer who plays as a forward for Oxford Utd, on loan from Liverpool. The forward is a highly rated prospect, playing for the U18s side at just fifteen, and eventually becoming the club's second youngest Premier League player. At 17 years and 45 days, Woodburn is Liverpool's youngest ever goalscorer. Liverpool career Woodburn born in Nottingham and grew up in Chester before joining the Liverpool F.C. Academy in 2007, at the age of eight. Growing up, Woodburn chose to represent Wales in the development squads, despite being English born. Woodburn came through the academy very highly rated by the staff. The Welshman made a big impression to the Liverpool fans in his first season for the U18s, scoring an overhead kick against Manchester United, and also netting a spectacular lobbed effort in an FA Youth Cup win over Cardiff. In the summer of 2016, Woodburn featured in the senior team in pre-season. On 13 July 2016, Woodburn scored his first goal in a 5-0 win over Fleetwood. The Welshman also assisted Roberto Firmino's second goal in the game. Three days later, Woodburn netted Liverpool's second in a 2-0 win at Wigan. On 8 November 2016, Woodburn signed a long-term senior contract with the club. On 26th November 2016, Woodburn was named in the matchday squad for Liverpool's 2-0 win over Sunderland, and was named on the bench. In the 90th minute Woodburn came on for his competitive debut, and had some good touches. This made him Liverpool's second youngest Premier League player, after Jack Robinson, and third youngest overall. Three days later, Woodburn again came on as a substitute and this time opened his account for the club, volleying in from close range to give Liverpool a 2-0 lead over Leeds. This made his the club's youngest ever goal scoring, beating Michael Owen's record. Woodburn made his first start on 8 January 2017, in a 0-0 FA Cup draw with Plymouth. After making a few more substitute appearances, including a 60th minute swap for Philippe Coutinho while level with Burnley, Woodburn made his first Premier League start on 8 April 2017, playing 45 minutes in a 2-1 win at Stoke. Despite the Reds losing when he was replaced, fans were relatively happy with the youngster's performance, with some saying he had outperformed Divock Origi. The 2017-18 campaign was a relatively disappointing one for Woodburn. The youngster made just two senior appearances, having spent a lot of time out injured in the tail-end of the season. Woodburn did however, captain the U19s side throughout the UEFA Youth League, and netted some big goals for Steven Gerrard’s young side. On 25 July 2018, it was confirmed that Woodburn would join Sheffield Utd on a season long loan. After making just eight appearances in the first half of the season, Woodburn was brought back to Liverpool for the rest of the campaign. On 30 July 2019, Woodburn joined Oxford Utd on a season-long loan. Honours Individual *Academy Player of the Season: 1 (2016-17) Stats External links * Category:Current Players Category:Forwards